If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

UsingEnglish.com is partnering with Gymglish to give you a free one-month trial of this online English training course. Activate your free month of lessons (special offer for new users, with no obligation to buy) - and receive a level assessment!

Re: Punctuation in case of and.

I am not a grammar czar, but here goes...

I would not agree that while is "far more appropriate", unless you were trying to make a point about the relative timings of the two events. Hence, "I was playing Football yesterday, and my sister was cooking dinner" is perfectly normal and appropriate.

Your second version: " I was playing Football yesterday. And my sister was cooking dinner" is a bit more unusual. One does not routinely start a sentence with "And", unless one is making a specific comment: separating the two statements to achieve an effect. Reading this would make me think that there was something out of the ordinary about your sister cooking dinner: perhaps she resented doing it because she wanted to play football too?

By the way, one does not normally spell "football" with a capital "F".

I'm not a teacher of English, but I have spoken it for (almost) all of my life....

Re: Punctuation in case of and.

Umm so It's unusual, or un-natural to be more specific. The sentence should have been: I was playing football. And my sister was cooking the dinner, she was resented doing it because she wanted to play football too?

Re: Punctuation in case of and.

Originally Posted by saloom2

Umm so It's unusual, or un-natural to be more specific. The sentence should have been: I was playing football. And my sister was cooking the dinner. She resented doing it, because she wanted to play football too.

I wouldn't even say it's un-natural. And it's becoming more common, like starting sentences with "But". Feel free to do so when there's a good reason. But don't overdo it!

I'm not a teacher of English, but I have spoken it for (almost) all of my life....